Gun Powder & Lead
by Harley.Dixon
Summary: Harley wants to know what happened to the world. She can't believe it on her own. Her best friend may be pretty unorthodox, but he makes sense. When he gets separated from the group and assumed dead, who is Harley to turn to? Perhaps the greatest balance in her life has disguised himself as her best friend's little brother. Daryl/OC (I do NOT condone Caryl... Not one bit...)
1. Chapter 1

Harley gulped down a large lump of air caught in her throat. Whatever those things were, they were after her, and hot on her tail. She shuddered, remembering the smell of decaying flesh when one of the creatures had reached out to her. Finally, she had caught her breath enough to continue forward. A small creek snaked its way through the woods and Harley used it as her landmark. She glanced up and noticed the sun closer to the center of the sky, signaling it was almost midday. The creek swerved through the woods, and Harley continued on her path for hours. The snap of a twig caused her to spin her head around, glancing left and right to find the source of the noise. When she found nothing, she stepped on and followed the creek, checking over her shoulder every few steps. A low gurgle sounded below her and she jumped back, seeing the undead creature that was stuck in the mud alongside the creek. Her feet carried her along quickly in a hurried jog. Glancing over her shoulder, she failed to notice the tree root reaching out to capture her foot. Her toe snagged the root and she toppled over, sliding down the creek bed and into the water. She cursed herself for being so careless and scrambled to her feet, pulling herself up to the solid ground and trudging on, her wet clothes adding unwanted weight to her body. A sigh blew itself out her lips as she pulled herself forward, seeing a small clearing peak through the trees ahead. It looked as though there were a rock quarry and a large body of water past the trees. Her pace quickened and she hurried through the trees. People's voices sounded just beyond the tree line and Harley stopped. If there were people here, they might see her as a threat or worse, one of those things she had been running from. Biting down on her lip in thought, she looked off to her left and saw a hill. If she could make it up the hill and to the road, she would be seen on her approach and wouldn't cause as much alarm. Her teeth released her bottom lip and she made way towards the road at the top of the hill. Once her feet met pavement, she sighed in relief and went on down the road until she came to an opening in the trees.  
"Who are you?" A voice barked cautiously.  
Harley turned slowly and looked into the eyes of a young Asian boy. He seemed frightened, but not malicious. Harley put up her hands to signal she meant no harm.  
"My name is Harley, I..." Her voice trailed off as she glanced back forward.  
"Oh my god!" She screamed and took off running down the hill.  
"Merle!" She cried as she leapt into the older man's arms, catching him off guard and taking them both to the ground.  
"What in God's name?!" Merle shouted, struggling to push himself onto his elbows. His eyes locked onto Harley as she sat up, pushing her bangs out of her face.  
"We'll I'll be damned!" He grinned. "If it ain't baby Harley!"  
Harley smiled warmly and threw her arms around his neck. The Asian boy had followed Harley after she took off and now stared, dumbfounded, at the sight of someone actually happy to see Merle Dixon.  
"Merle, you'll never believe it! Dead people are up and walkin'! They ain't dead no more!" She huffed, climbing off of Merle and helping him stand to his feet.  
Merle stared down at her for a few moments before hooking his arm around her shoulder.  
"I know, baby girl, they're tryin'a eat the livin'."  
Harley stared up at him and searched his eyes for any clue that he was joking. She found none. Her eyes fell to the dirt and her shoulders slumped.  
"So that mean Danny ain't really alive then?" She asked softly. Merle squeezed her shoulders.  
"Nah, baby girl, he's as dead as the day they laid his ass in the ground."  
Somehow, Merle's unorthodox words of assurance comforted Harley. She looked up and noticed a large group of people gathered around the two reunited friends. She shifted awkward under Merle's arm.  
"Who the hell is she?" A dark haired man growled. Harley took in his features; dark skin, black hair, and a nose that looked like it had seen its fair share of fights.  
"I'm Harley. I grew up in Merle's hometown, uhm, I've been wandering on my own for..." She thought for a moment. She couldn't remember when she hit the road. "A long time," she finally said.  
"Are you bit? Scratched?" A think black woman asked.  
Harley shook her head, not understanding what that had to do with anything. A tall woman with dark, wavy hair approached Harley and Merle.  
"I'm Lori. You can stay with us for now, but you have to help out and earn your keep."  
Harley nodded and thanked the woman, catching an icy glare from the dark haired man. She glared back for only a moment before Merle turned her around and wheeled her away.  
"You can meet all them later. I need your help," he said under his breath.  
The wheels in Harley's head turned. What kind of world was this where Merle Dixon needed help? She shook off the thought and followed him down to the lake she had spotted through the trees. Merle grabbed a fishing pole off the rocks and handed it to Harley.  
"You always had more patience for this kinda shit," he huffed. Harley chuckled and took the fishing pole. She baited the hook and cast the line in a flash, taking a seat on the rock.  
"Who's the prick that was giving me the death glare?" She asked.  
Merle's face scrunched up.  
"That's Shane. Used to be a pig, then the world went to shit. Now he ain't nothin' more than a survivor with an attitude."  
"I wanna knock him on his ass," Harley huffed.  
Merle laughed, glad to have his old friend back, even if she was significantly younger than him.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone sat around the low burning fire, seemingly enjoying themselves. By this time, Harley had met almost everyone in the group. Carl and Sophia seemed to look at Harley like a big kid already, asking her to play games with them after they had finished their homework. Merle kept a close eye on Harley, making sure she didn't wander off. He could tell she was pretty green in the gills when it came to this new world. Even when they lived back home, Harley had trouble fighting people. She didn't want to hurt people and she had a heart of gold.

Merle chuckled to himself, remembering the rainy night that her mother had locked her out. Harley had been on her way to the Dixon's place when she found a stray kitten shivering under a truck. Naturally, she brought it with her and it took two hours of arguing before Merle finally gave up and let her keep it in the house. When he looked at her, he knew it would take some time for her to come around and realize she had to kill these things to survive.

A swift punch brought Merle's attention back to the group as Harley stared at him.

"You alright?" She asked. Her green eyes searched his blue ones for any indication of drug use. Harley had always been trying to get Merle off of whatever he was on that day. Today, at least, he was clean.

He took a swig of his beer and swung an arm around Harley's shoulders.

"What'd you say, baby girl? I was thinkin'," he smiled, looking down at her.

With a roll of her eyes, Harley repeated herself. "You got your bike outta the shop before you left, right?"

"You're damn right I did! Ain't leavin' my baby behind for nothin'!"

Harley laughed at Merle's typical male attraction to his motorcycle. She remembered the Triumph that used to sit in his shop with a new piece missing each day as he worked diligently on it.

Glenn stood up and stretched his arms.

"Well guys, I'm gonna call it a night. With our trip to Atlanta tomorrow, I wanna get some sleep."

Merle tipped to his left as he felt Harley push his shoulder.

"You should sleep, too. You're goin' with 'em so it might be a good idea," she voiced, nodding over towards his tent.

"Alright, let's go then!" He grinned at her, and the skeptical look in her eyes made him laugh.

"Merle you know I ain't gonna sleep with ya," she chuckled.

With mock disappointment, Merle hung his head and dragged himself towards his tent. A delicate smile tugged at the corners of Harley's mouth.

"Wow. I've never seen Merle give up after one shot," Lori expressed, staring at Harley in surprise.

"Nah, he knows better," she grinned. "Last time he tried too hard, I tipped his bike. I was dodgin' wrenches for a good twenty minutes!"

Carl laughed at the thought of Harley ducking wrenches from Merle.

Glancing up at the fire, Harley couldn't help but notice Shane's icy glare still latched onto her. All day, he was staring at her and all day she tried to figure out what she had done. She avoided his gaze for a while before finally letting out a deep breath.

"Have I done somethin' to you, _officer_?" She asked, venom dripping off her last word.

He huffed through his nose and sat back.

"No, ma'am. Just wonderin' where the hell you came from. Hardly got a scratch on ya, yet you come runnin' through here sayin' you been on your own for some time now. Just don't make sense to me."

"Hm... Don't think a girl can take care of herself? That it, _officer_?" She exaggerated his old title to antagonize him.

A swift boot to her rear end made Harley spin around. Merle stood over her, one arm leaned against a tree as he glared at Shane.

"Leave 'im be, baby girl. He don't take too kind to strangers. Come on, Darleena still ain't back; you can take his tent tonight," Merle said, not taking his eyes off Shane who stared intently back.

Harley shrugged and stood up, waving to Carl and Sophia, as well as their mothers.

"Night, y'all. Carl, be ready tomorrow. I'm gonna teach you to fish," she winked.

The pair walked down a slight hill were Merle had his tent set up. Harley could remember Daryl very well. After all, as the two got older, they helped each other survive. Between the two tents, she could tell which one was Merle's by the blankets spilling out of the opening. Merle always was the messier one, from what she could remember.

Any time Harley would stay at the Dixon's house, she was always cleaning up after Merle. She couldn't recall an instance where she had to clean up after Daryl. She sighed tiredly.

"You sure he won't be mad if he's back by mornin' and I'm in here?" Harley was tired, but she could sleep on the ground. After all, that's what she'd been doing for as long as she'd been on the road.

Merle waved her off. "Ah, he ain't gonna be back any time soon. Darleena went out huntin'. Who knows when he'll be back."

Harley's teeth latched onto her lip as she debated whether or not she wanted to sleep in the tent. Sure, it was a place to sleep that had some shelter, but that was someone else's place. Finally, she gave up on her thoughts and climbed into the tent. Quickly, she unlaced her boots and tossed them into the corner of the tent, laying down on the pile of blankets that made the bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

The sound of birds overhead filled her ears as sunlight filtered through the thin tent walls. Harley rubbed her eyes and smoothed down her hair, tugging on her boots and climbing out of the unfamiliar tent. The sun was still low in the sky, signaling that it was still early. Looking over at Merle's tent, Harley noticed the blankets spilling out again and concluded that he was already up. As she made way up to the camp, she saw that Merle was nowhere to be seen.

"Lori!" Harley figured if anyone knew where he was, Lori might. "You seen Merle?"

Turning to face Harley, Lori looked up at her curiously. "He left already. The group took off at dawn. Is everything alright?"

A strange feeling twisted itself in the pit of Harley's stomach. She shook it off as hunger and nodded. "Yeah, I was just gonna say bye. I didn't realize they were leavin' that early."

Lori nodded in understanding as Harley turned to head back down to the tent she had slept in. The least she could do was make sure she straightened up any mess she might have made last night.

Walking back up to the camp, Harley whistled at Carl and waved her hand, motioning for him to come to her. "Lori, if its alright with you, I'm gonna take Carl down to the quarry and teach 'im how to fish."

With a nod, Lori advised her son to be careful and granted him permission to go with Harley. He jumped around with excitement. Harley smiled at him, but secretly, she felt bad for him. She related to not having a father, as it was just her and her mother growing up. Carl was lucky, though; his mother cared and loved him. Everything Harley had ever learned came from Merle. Fishing, hunting, taking care of cars. Harley had saved her mother a fortune on food and car repairs. Always, though, Harley was thanked by being locked out or ran out of the house. The Dixon household was a common place for her by the age of 15. Even if Merle was off in juvie or just gone for days, Harley knew he would never be upset with her for sleeping on their couch. Merle understood.

Harley led Carl down to the quarry and sat with him on some rocks off the shore. With as much patience as she could muster, she showed the young boy how to bait a hook, cast a line, and keep the line from snagging.

Hours had passed and the two had caught seven fish. Carl huffed disappointedly, feeling he could have caught much more.

"Hey, kiddo, you did great for your first trip. My first trip with Merle, I caught two little things we had to release. They weren't much for eatin'," she smiled, ruffling the hair on the young boy's head.

"Really? You went fishing with Merle?" Carl's nose scrunched up a bit.

"Yeah? What's the problem with that? Tell ya somethin', boy, that man is like my brother. Took good care of me when I was your age." Harley stood up and started walking with Carl back up to camp.

"What about your mom and dad?"

"My dad got into an accident at work and died when I was six. And my ma... She didn't take it too good. She would always go out and party and come home and sleep and go out and party some more. I had no one to take care of me." Carl looked at her intently as she recalled her childhood.

"Then I met Merle outside the store in our hometown. I musta looked somethin' awful cuz he thought I was gonna fall over dead right there. Ma was out somewhere again. But Merle helped me get home and told me where he lived if I ever needed anything. At first I didn't think I'd ever go to him. But when my ma locked me outta the house when I was eight, I had nowhere else to go. He's always taken good care of me."

The two had reached the camp and Carl briefly hugged Harley. She took it as his way of saying he was sorry for what had happened to her. She smiled and handed him the stringer.

"Go show your ma what you caught," she insisted, pushing him towards his mother.

Harley watched happily as Carl showed off his catch to Lori, a wide grin slapped on his face.

Suddenly, a high pitched alarm sounded in the distance, catching everyone's attention. Dale peered through his binoculars to find out what was making the noise. Before anyone knew it, a cherry red Dodge Charger came to a stop at the camp as Glenn climbed out, breathing heavily from excitement. Shane was the first to respond, reprimanding the young man for bringing such a loud object to camp. A box van followed up behind Glenn and people began piling out. Harley waited patiently for Merle to climb out of the van. A new man approached the camp and Lori and Carl both stared in bewilderment for a moment before running towards him.

Harley's brow furrowed as she realized there wasn't anyone left in the van. She walked up to the group and crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

"W-where's Merle?"

An eerie silence overtook the group that just returned from Atlanta. Harley began to grow extremely uncomfortable and repeated herself.

"Where is Merle?!"

Her arms tightened across her chest as her heart sped up. The new man stepped forward.

"He was a threat to us all," he said calmly, reaching out to touch Harley's arm. She recoiled violently.

"Where the hell is he?!" Harley's lip started to tremble.

"We handcuffed him to a roof... And I dropped the key down a drain..." T-Dog said with his head bowed in shame.

Sheer horror overtook Harley as her eyes widened. At first, she couldn't move. She was frozen to the spot where she stood. Carl watched nervously, knowing now how much Merle meant to Harley. With all her anger, Harley threw herself at the new man from Atlanta. Her fists her flying and she screamed profanities at him for leaving her best friend handcuffed to a roof, vulnerable to anything that crossed his path. Shane rushed in and grabbed Harley by the arms, restraining her as she thrashed about like an animal.

"You bastard! How could you leave him there like that?! Like some second-class creature?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Why would you leave him there?!" She screamed, fighting against Shane with everything she had.

Daryl walked up the hill towards camp, squirrels stuck on his stringer as he heard a woman screaming. He heard something about leaving someone. Rolling his eyes, he shook it off as one of the women freaking out about her children. He swung the stringer of squirrels off his shoulder and called for Merle. The commotion up at camp stopped and everyone turned to see Daryl. His eyes went to the woman being restrained by Shane and he nearly dropped the squirrels. Harley Jackson was being held back, her body rigid and her face turning red from anger. Daryl watched as she shoved her elbow into Shane's stomach and he released her. She walked up to T-Dog and landed a solid hook across his face before heading for a box van up from camp.

A man Daryl had never seen raced after her and they spoke angrily with each other, just out of ear shot. Finally, she ripped her hand off the door and stalked towards Daryl.

"You know where Merle is? Huh?! He's handcuffed to a roof in Atlanta with those... THINGS everywhere! And this bastard dropped the damn key!" Her eyes watered and her accusing hand that pointed at T-Dog shook.

It was Daryl's turn to become enraged. He charged for T-Dog, only to be stopped by Shane the same way Harley had been.

After another shouting match and more struggling, it was decided that a group would head for Atlanta first thing in the morning. Harley had been forced to stay behind, despite her arguments about how she was closer to him than anyone besides Daryl.

It was dark now. Harley sat in the dirt between the Dixon's tents. She loved Merle, but she would never sleep in the same place as him. He was just too messy. Daryl had given her a blanket after dinner and she took it gratefully. She heard the zipper on Daryl's tent open and she saw his silhouette step out and sit in front of her.

"Can't sleep?" She asked quietly.

He grunted in response, something Harley was used to. They sat in silence for a long while, another thing Harley was used to.

"I'm expectin' you to bring him back tomorrow," she finally mumbled. Another grunt from the man in front of her told her he was expecting the same thing. After a few more moments of silence, he got up and went back into his tent. Harley laid her head on the dirt and pulled the blanket up to her chin, curling into the fetal position and drifting off into a troubled sleep. Tomorrow, she'd sleep better with Merle back at camp.


	3. Chapter 3

A low groan escaped Harley's lips as she lifted her head off the dirt. Slowly, she sat up and leaned her head from side to side, a satisfying pop coming from her joints as she did so. It was dark still, but the silhouettes of the trees told Harley that the sun would be rising fairly soon. She pulled herself to her feet and wiped the dirt from her pants and tank top. After rolling around all night trying to find a comfortable position, she was covered in dirt and dust. She stared at the tent to her left which had been left empty all night. Merle had spent all night handcuffed to a roof in Atlanta with all of those creatures clawing at him with desperate attempts to feed themselves. A shiver climbed up her spine and shook her shoulders at the thought of being left alone in the large, dark, infected city. Harley felt cold and got up to head to the fire pit at the center of the campsite. Even as early as it was, she could get the low embers going into a small flame. It would only be a matter of time before someone else was up and wanting to eat or seek solace from the fire. Her boots drug through the dirt heavily and with little ambition.

The group was not allowing her to go to Atlanta today to rescue her best friend. Rick, who she had later discovered was Lori's husband and Carl's father, was the sherrif who had shown up from Atlanta the previous day; the one who handcuffed Merle to the roof. He had asked Harley how she was with a gun during the discussion of the new trip to Atlanta. Harley had been modest and told him she could hit a target if she needed to. That seemed to satisfy the sherrif and his deputy, Shane, and Harley was volunteered to stay behind at the camp to provide some protection. Harley had attempted to argue that she should be there when they get Merle back. Her argument was valid; she had asked Rick to place himself in Merle's shoes. Would he rather have one familiar face come to his rescue, or two? Rick's face froze in thought for a moment, but ultimately, with Shane's influence, the decision was that Harley was to stay put and watch after the camp.

Leaning over the last burning embers of last night's fire, Harley dropped in a few small pieces of wood and pulled some of the cotton off her sock. She blew on the embers until they caught the cotton on fire and watched as the flames spread to the firewood in the low pit. Running a hand over her tired face, she let out a long sigh. The sun steadily rose over the trees and began to illuminate the small camp, the rays of the strong Georgian sun already starting to heat up the back of her neck. She began to grow impatient, wanting everyone to wake up now and leave to get Merle back. Harley knew, though, that a tired group would do them no good. As if sensing Harley's unrest, Dale climbed out of the Winnebago and sat down next to Harley at the low burning fire.

"Sleep ok?" he asked, displaying what seemed like genuine concern for Harley's well being.

Harley rolled her head to the side and rubbed her neck, sighing again. "As well as I could, I guess. I kept wakin' up, hopin' it was dawn."

Dale could hear the disappointment in Harley's voice, but he couldn't tell if it was from the group leaving Merle behind, or if it was the fact that she was not allowed to accompany them on their rescue mission. Perhaps, he thought, it was both. The older man honestly felt bad for the poor girl. Here she was, alone in a post-apocalyptic world, being fortunate to stumble across the group and find her best friend. Then, as soon as she had found him, she had lost him. His eyes fell to the low flames licking the measly pieces of firewood as he silently pittied her.

"I have faith though," she said clearly, glancing up at the dim sky. "Daryl's not gonna let his brother just sit there. He's gonna go after him. Hell, I'd be gone already searchin' for him. But that'd probably get me killed, and that's probably why I ain't allowed to go. But... if they would think for a minute, I got this far somehow. I survived on my own. I just want my best friend back already."

Dale had opened his mouth to speak when both of them glanced over to the Winnebago as the door swung shut. Andrea stepped out and took notice to the two sitting by the fire.

"Not interrupting if I sit here, am I?" she asked, flashing a small smile to Harley.

Seeing Harley shake her head, Andrea accepted that as an "ok" to sit down with the pair. The blonde woman rubbed a hand over her tired shoulder and groaned.

"God, how I just wish I had some coffee!" she exhaulted, making Harley laugh a bit.

"Even black, coffee would just be amazin' right now... After so much runnin' and so little sleep, I feel like an office assisstant in Atlanta," Harley smiled, trying to enjoy a casual conversation to ease her nerves. Surprisingly, the simple talk about old day comforts seemed to be doing the trick. She wasn't anxious about the trip or upset that she was excluded from the rescue team. Harley felt welcomed here by everyone but Shane, and Merle had made it pretty apparent that Shane was a complete tool. Merle had even mentioned that he though Lori and Shane were doing the deed. Harley couldn't see a woman like Lori going for someone as mean and rough as Shane. Then again, Harley herself had gone for some pretty out-of-character men herself.

"Coffee, a mattress, a hot shower..." Andrea reminisced about all the comforts they had to leave behind. Not by choice, either. Everything they had all grown up with had been ripped from their grasps before anyone could truly realize what was going on and stop it.

Dale nodded his head in agreement at everything Andrea had said, Harley mimicking his movements. Harley rubbed her tired green eyes and pouted.

"I miss my makeup... Just some mascara would make me feel so much more comfortable. I mean, I never really wore a lot. Just some eyeliner and mascara, really. That's it. Unless it was a special occassion. Then I broke out the blush and the eyeshadow," Harley grinned. Andrea nodded in agreement.

Harley really never did wear much makeup. Growing up, she didnt' always have the money to doll herself up the way other girls did. When she would go to school, she would cringe internally at the heavy makeup the other girls wore. Harley wouldn't doubt that the other girls cringed at her, though, as well. Not particularly being a girl of fashion and style, Harley settled for blue jeans and wife beaters. Along with her authentic 1960's military combat boots, Harley dressed rather plainly. That never bothered her, though. She would always rather have brains over beauty, which she was grateful she had. During school, Harley could see just how far beauty could get a person. As her and her classmates got older, the prettier girls would try to flirt their way through class, wearing their shirts a little lower and their shorts a little higher.

Merle had always told Harley she was a pretty girl. Coming from Merle, though, she was hesitant to believe it. He was a womanizer and told a lot of girls they were pretty, even when they were far from it.

Slowly, the whole camp began to crawl out of their tents and huddle around the small fire. So far, Harley had accounted for everyone except the children, Lori, Rick, and Shane. Everyone seemed exhausted after yesterday's ordeals and the events that unfolded. Carol glanced at Harley quickly and had thought to tell her that everything would be alright, but she feared what Ed would say if she opened her mouth without his permission.

Glancing over at the Grimes' tent, Harley noticed Lori stepping out with Carl. The two joined everyone around the fire and Carl sat on Harley's right.

"What's for breakfast, mom?" he asked, looking up to his mother. Lori glanced down at her son and pointed to the Winnebago.

"Anything Dale's willing to give you. Better hope he doesn't make you starve," she joked, winking at Dale who chuckled to himself.

Carl looked to Dale with curiousity, hoping for something good.

"Well... All we really have is leftover squirrel from last night... But there isn't even much of that," the old man said, giving Carl an empathetic glance.

"We should let the kids eat 'fore any of us. I mean, it's only right. They need the food more than we do," Harley said, looking to everyone in the group for any sign of disagreement.

Ed stepped forward in protest. "Man, we all need food. Those kids shouldnt' be gettin' everything we have. We all gotta survive, so why are they gettin' treated better than the rest of us?"

Harley looked up at the man in shock. "Ed, you gotta understand, we all did our growin' and now we're done. The kids, though, still need more for their bodies than we do. On top of that, these kids are the ones to carry on the next generation. If they die of starvation, we're all screwed. You ever think before you open that big mouth o' yours?"

"I ain't gotta take that kinda talk from a woman," Ed growled, stepping forward.

Standing as tall as she could, Harley rose to her feet and looked up at Ed. Dale tried to intervene and be the mediator, like he usually was, but neither one of the two would back down. Ed glanced over Harley's shoulder and noticed Daryl standing rather defensively behind the petitie woman. Not in a threatening way, but more in a way that said Ed didn't want to cause any trouble. Slowly, Ed realized that if he did start something, he would be outnumbered. He decided he would have to wait until a different time to take on the woman that stood up to him. Shooting her an icy glare and sitting back down, Ed refused to say another word about the matter and it was decided that the children would get food before any of the adults. Harley swiveled her head around and took notice to Daryl standing behind her, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed at the angry man. She felt slightly defeated, hoping that she had been the one to intimidate Ed into backing down, when really, Daryl's presence was most likely the thing that did the trick. It had been that way ever since they were kids.

Dale retreated into the Winnebago and got whatever leftovers there were and split most of it up between the children, leaving anything left to be divided amongst the adults. Rick suggested the women get food next and everyone agreed, but when the food came to Harley, she politely declined and insisted Rick or someone else took her share.

"Harley, we need you at your best around camp, you should know that," Rick argued, trying to get Harley to eat her share.

The brunette simply shook her head and insisted someone else take it. "Y'all need to be at your best if you're gonna be goin' into Atlanta today. Don't need you passin' out from starvation. Besides, my stomach's accustomed to not gettin' much. I'll be fine, I promise you. Just eat," she urged, proving a valid point about Atlanta. With a defeated sigh, Rick offered Harley's share to whomever wanted it. Glenn happily took the extra food, stopping just before he took all of it and offered the rest to anyone in the group. Harley sat with a water bottle filled with boiled water from the quarry. As long as she had water and ate every two to three days, she would be alright.

As everyone began to finish their breakfast, Harley realized that the sun was rising higher and higher into the sky, signaling that it was growing later and later in the day. Harley started gettting fidgety, wondering how long it would be until the group left for Atlanta. On top of that, Harley hadn't seen Daryl since he stood behind her to intimidate Ed into backing down. She figured he was just off doing whatever it was the Dixon's did these days.

As if on cue, Rick gathered his group of travelers to Atlanta and they all discussed what the plan was for recovering the lost Dixon brother and bringing him back. Harley stood with the group and listened to the plan, knowing that if she heard something she knew Merle would not appreciate, she could speak up and hopefully avoid some calamity. Standing next to Rick, she could feel someone's eyes on her, but didn't want to look around to see who's eyes they were. After explaining everything to his group, Rick turned to Harley and handed her a Beretta Storm 9 mm handgun. She stared at the weapon intently before realizing it was her own handgun she was being handed.

"How and when did you get this out of my bag?" she asked, her green eyes narrowing at the ex-sherriff.

"Shane grabbed it from your bag the first night you were here. Kept it for safe keeping. He didn't mean it as an insult, just a safety measure," Rick explained calmly, trying to avoid any unnecessary hostility. Harley hid her animosity towards the ex-cop and forced a smile, taking her gun and tucking it in her waistband.

"No, I understand. A stranger walks into camp, I'd wanna take care of my people, too," she smiled sweetly.

Daryl scoffed off to the side and shook his head. He knew that she was hiding her fangs until she got the chance to talk to Shane herself. Harley may be a sweet girl with a heart of gold, but Daryl had seen first hand what life was like for people that crossed her the wrong way. He wasn't exactly sure what Shane had done other than take her gun, but he knew Shane was not in for a very pleasant ride. She would never lay a hand on him; Harley didn't like to physically hurt people, but her attitude had the ability to drive Ghandi insane.

Rick nodded and thanked Harley for understanding before instructing all his men to get in the van so they could leave. Daryl had already hopped in the van and was honking the horn, trying to get everyone to hustle up. Harley ran up to the van quickly and poked her head into the back where Daryl was pacing like a caged tiger.

"Bring 'im back, you hear me? I'm countin' on you since I can't go. You bring him back here and you come with 'im," she said in a hushed tone to her childhood friend. Daryl stopped pacing and stared at her.

"What are you, my damn mother?" he growled, resuming his pacing.

Harley shook her head and rolled her eyes. She knew to blow it off as Daryl being nervous, both about the trip and about his brother's safety. He wanted his brother back, although he would never openly admit it, and she wanted her best friend back, something she would gladly admit any day of the week.

The two were different, very different, but they had their similarities. That was why they could so easily depend on each other when they were young. Now, though, Harley wasn't so sure if Daryl was the same as he was when they were seventeen.

With the familiar presence of her Beretta in her waistband, Harley walked around the camp. She checked up on Carl and Sofia, who were doing their homework with Carol while Lori wished her husband a safe trip and begged him to come back safely. Lori was upset that he had just returned the day before and he was already leaving them again to go after someone most of the camp would be relieved was gone. Rick couldn't accept that, though. Daryl wouldn't show it, but he would be crushed if Merle was just left there; and Harley would never know what to do with herself. She never even got to say goodbye to Merle. She had simply gone to bed that night, not thinking it would be the last time she saw him.

Harley looked up at the hill and watched as the box van drove away. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as her last friend drove away, and this time, the worry that he might not return tied itself deep within her stomach. With a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, she retreated to the spot between the Dixon brothers' tents and opened up her backpack. A pack of Camel Menthols stared at her, whispering their condolences and reassuring her that everything would be alright. She quickly snatched up the pack and pulled one out, popping the little bead in the filter and taking it in her mouth, fishing in her pocket for her lighter. When she produced a flame around the cigarette, she inhaled deeply and felt a rush of relief wash over her body as the smoke filled her lungs and nicotene coursed through her system. Harley had intentionally rationed her cigarettes for situations like these where she felt she would crawl out of her skin if she didn't find something to calm her nerves. After a few long, much needed drags, she put out the cigarette in the dirt, wanting to save the rest for another time she really needed it.

Back up at the camp, she caught a curious look from Amy who was readying a load of dirty laundry to take down to the quarry.

"What?" Harley laughed, returning Amy's curious eyes.

"Did you just smoke? I can definitely smell something on you," Amy said with a smile. It was clear she wouldn't judge Harley if she had been smoking or not, so Harley shrugged and smiled.

"Gotta do somethin' to fight the stress."

Amy laughed softly and Harley helped her to get all the laundry into the back of the car they were taking down to the lake. When all the baskets were loaded, Amy looked at Harley again and cocked an eyebrow.

"So how do you know Merle and Daryl? And how are you such good friends with them? They don't seem to want anything to do with anyone but themselves," she asked.

The thought of the Dixon brothers taking interst in the group made Harley chuckle.

"When I was little, Merle took care of me cuz my own ma wouldn't. I was only eight when she first tried to kick me out. So I was livin' with them every now and then. And sometimes Merle would get himself into trouble so it would just be me and Daryl countin' on each other. No idea what possessed Merle to take care of me, he just did. Sad part is, he took better care of me than he did his own brother. Sometimes, I think Daryl hates me for it."

The look Harley got from Amy was hard to read. She seemed to be processing the little bit of information Harley had given her.

"Well, from the way Daryl was standing behind you when Ed got in your face, I would say he doesn't hate you," she finally said with a smile.

The thought bounced around in Harley's head for a while. She wondered why Daryl felt the need to do that when there was no immediate danger to Harley at all. Ed was dumb, but there was no way he was dumb enough to attack her in front of everyone in camp. At least, Harley didn't think so. Then again, she had only been there a couple days now.

Harley shook off the confused feeling she now had and walked down to the quarry with Andrea, Jacqui, and Carol. Down at the lake, the women all unloaded the piles of laundry and washboards and took them down to the water's edge. Ed sat back and sucked on a cigarette while the women did all the work. Together, the four ladies set to work on the laundry.

"I miss my Maytag..." Carol said quietly.

Harley nodded in agreement, remembering the front-load washer her mother had up at Fort Benning. It was amazing how many things Harley never gave a second thought to until she could no longer access or use them.

"My ma had a great washer when we lived on the base at Fort Bennin'," Harley mused, scrubbing an old t-shirt on her washboard, watching all the dirt swirl around in the water.

"Fort Benning? What the hell are you doing all the way down here, sweetie?" Jacqui asked, pausing for a second to look over at Harley. The other two women stopped as well and waited for an answer.

"Well, when I was seventeen, my ma married this Army man. And when I was seventeen, my ma finally decided she wanted to do somethin' to take care of me. So she made me move with her to Fort Bennin' to be with this man she married. I tried to save as much as I could to move back to my hometown, but my ma was always needin' to borrow cash, so it took a lot longer than I was hopin'. I finally got enough, but on the way there, I got stuck on the road to Atlanta. When I saw the town bein' bombed and people panickin', I grabbed my backpack and headed for the woods," Harley explained.

"Any reason you were going back, or was that just where you felt like you belonged?" Andrea asked.

Harley stopped for a moment and thought... Did she really wanna tell these women, who were practically strangers, the real reason she wanted to go back?

"My ma may have been blood, but Merle is my family. Grew up with that man for nearly ten years. I just wanted to be with my family."

Carol stared at the water for a moment. "What about Daryl? He seems... protective of you. Isn't he like family?"

It was Harley's turn to stare at the water. She didn't know what to say about Daryl. "Yeah... he's like family." She fell silent after she answered Carol and stared into the blue water of the lake.

"Seems to me like Daryl might be a little bit more than family?" Andrea asked, discretely urging Harley to give more insight on the situation.

A smile played with the corners of Harley's mouth as she grabbed another shirt and plunged it into the water. These women were determined to find out what the secret was behind Harley and Daryl. Harley knew better, though, and knew that if she told them anything, gave them the slightest hint about the past, they would hold it over her head and eventually take it to Merle and Daryl, asking for more information and greater detail.

"Sorry, ladies, that's all there is to tell you. Merle and Daryl Dixon are my family. Plain and simple," she smiled, scrubbing the shirt against her washboard to get out the dirt and grass stains.

A long silence passed as all the women contininued to wash the clothes of the other camp members. The water around them swirled with dirt and sweat from all the old clothing. Minutes passed and Harley's mind started to wander. The sun was getting close to setting; the group should have been back a long time ago. It couldn't take that long to get to the top of that building, release Merle, get the gun bag, and get back to camp. Harley scrubbed her clothes furiously, her mind racing at all the possibilities of things that could have gone wrong.

"I miss my vibrator..." Andrea said quietly, finally breaking the silence. Harley was jolted from her thoughts and stared at Andrea, dumbfounded. She could not believe what she had just heard. All the women chuckled and Harley confided in them that she never had one. She had always depended on a boy from back home when she needed something. Jacqui confessed that she missed her vibrator as well and another round of chuckles went through the small group. Carol stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation, but once everything had died down, she glanced over her shoulder to see that Ed was far enough away before bowing her head.

"Me, too," she mumbled quietly and all the ladies at the lake stared in disbelief at the meek woman. Harley threw her head back and laughed harder than she had in a long time. The laughter of the others accompanied hers and caught Ed's attention.

"What'chall laughin' at down there?" he demanded.

"Nothin', Ed, just swappin' war stories," Andrea called over her shoulder, rolling her eyes.

The large man made his way down to the water where the women were seated. "Hey, this ain't no comedy club, get back to work!"

Andrea stood up and faced Ed, a look of disgust written across her face. "You know what, Ed, why don't you do some of this work instead of sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?"

"If it's so important to you that this work gets done, why don't you pitch and do some yourself?" Harley sneered, standing up to the man. This time, she didn't have the whole camp around, nor did she have Daryl behind her to scare Ed away.

Ed glared at the two women who were taking a stand against him, before signaling to his wife to go to the car. "Come on, let's go," he barked.

"I don't think she should go anywhere with you," Andrea stated, putting up an arm to keep Carol back.

Carol tried to push through the arms of the women protecting her as Ed continued to demand she go get in the car. Harley took a step forward.

"Listen here, Ed, she ain't goin' nowhere with you, and that's final! She ain't safe with you! I seen the way you look at her when you're mad. Boy, you look like a ragin' bull and dammit, she didn't do a damn thing to get those horns! So just march your happy ass back to that car and head on back to camp, why don'tcha cuz-"

Harley's brute words were cut short by the force of Ed's hand hitting her face. Her head snapped to the side and she fell back into Andrea's arms. A loud commotion rose from the women as they were all appauled by Ed's actions. The scene from the shore had caught Shane's attention, who was over across the lake with Carl, catching frogs. The two rushed over just in time to see Harley steady herself and start screaming at Ed.

"You just gonna hit any woman you damn well please?! That what kinda man you are?! Tell you what, Ed, that ain't no man! That's a coward!" she yelled, stepping closer to him each second. Just as he raised his fist to strike her again, Shane grabbed him by the arm and threw him to the ground. Harley stood frozen to her spot, shaking from adrenaline, fear, and anger. Andrea and Carol began to plead with Shane to stop as he mercilessly beat Ed's face in. Standing there, watching, Harley felt he deserved it. Harley gave no protests, no pleas for forgiveness from Shane; Harley wasn't upset that she had been hit. She was upset that Carol had been suffering through this for far too long. Stepping past the beating taking place on the shore, Harley grabbed Carl by the shoulder and led him back to camp, feeling the throbbing in her jaw starting to worsen. Without a word to Carl, she handed him off to his mother and went back to her spot between the two tents away from camp.

The sun was now setting, the stars beginning to poke through the sherbert colored sky. Harley's worries grew with each passing moment that they hadn't returned from Atlanta. She could only imagine how Lori was feeling. That was her husband out there. The throbbing in her jaw had subsided, now it was just tender to the touch. It wasn't too swollen, for which Harley was thankful. Later on during the day, Andrea and Amy had gone out fishing, catching plenty for everyone to enjoy a dinner to fill their bellies. Harley hadn't left her spot between the Dixon's tents since the incident down at the lake. that had been early in the day, and now, the sun was setting, leaving Harley to wonder where everyone was. She noticed Carl coming down the hill with a plate.

"Mom said to bring you something to eat," he said quietly, holding out the plate of fish.

"Thanks, Carl," Harley answered, just as quiet as he had been. She knew she had no reason to be harsh with him, he had done nothing wrong. The boy was just looking out for her.

"Ed's still in his tent... Shane messed him up pretty bad... I think he deserved it for hitting you..." Carl was hesitant in his words at first, but once he found what he wanted to say, he just came right out and said it.

Harley shook her head lightly, taking the plate from the young man. "No one deserves violence. Some people deserve punishment, but I don't think it should ever be that bad."

Carl looked at Harley, unsure of why she was so forgiving of Ed. The young boy didn't like it when people fought, but he liked it even less when a bigger, stronger individual took out their frustration on a smaller, weaker person. It just wasn't fair to him. He shrugged it off and looked to Harley to see if she needed anything else. With a smile, the young woman dismissed him and he left her to her own company and her dinner. Once Carl had left, Harley stared at her plate with the generous amount of fish staring back at her. She wasn't sure if she was really hungry. Boredom was once her reason for eating, but now that there wasn't the luxury of eating whatever, whenver, she had lost a lot of weight. Harley was never extremely underweight. When she was in her early teenage years, she was a little thinner than most girls. When her mother moved her to Fort Benning, she took better care of Harley. She made sure she ate, she bought her clothes when she needed them; her mother was constantly trying to get Harley to get better clothes, but the young woman insisted blue jeans and wife beaters were fine.

Before Harley could take a bite of her dinner, a piercing scream came from the center of camp. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed her Beretta and ran up to camp. The handgun she held had never been used for anything but target practice at the range on the Army installation. Harley was never one for physical violence. She hated seeing people get hurt. Unfortunately, when she got up to camp, that was all she saw.

Chaos ensued as walkers had made their way into the small refuge. One of the undead had latched onto Ed and Harley struggled to fight off the corpse, pushing it to the ground and pulling Ed away. She saw complete and utter terror on his face as he gripped onto the gushing wound on his shoulder. By now, Harley understood that a bite or a scratch was all it took to get infected. Any cross of bodily fluids was a death sentence. Harley handed Ed a large tree branch.

"If they come at you, swing. Don't think twice, just knock 'em on their ass," she instructed, leaving him to his own defense now. Amy had stepped out of the Winnebago and was immediately grabbed by a walker, screaming as he sunk his teeth into her arms. A feeling of helplessness washed over Harley as she looked at all the people being attacked. She had no idea who she should help first. Lori and Carl were running around, trying to get to some place safe. Harley made the decision to help anyone who had not yet been attacked. If someone was already infected, there was no help for them.

Gunshots rang through the camp as Shane shot walkers left and right. Harley still didn't want to believe that these things had to be shot to be defeated. While Shane ran around ridding the camp of the undead, Harley led everyone she could towards the Winnebago. More and more walkers came from the woods around them, and Harley was quickly beginning to feel overwhelmed.

As if waiting for the right moment to join the fight, the group from Atlanta rushed out of the trees, taking out walkers left and right. Slowly, the undead began to drop like flies. Harley ran to Lori and Carl.

"Is Carl alright?" she huffed, looking over the young boy. Lori nodded frantically and searched the chaos for her husband. After seeing that Carl was alright, Harley lifted her eyes and searched for her Dixon brothers. She saw Daryl running around, launching bolts into the brains of the undead. Gurgles and groans sounded all over camp, and black blood oozed and mixed with fresh, red blood. A hand gripped onto the back of Harley's shirt and tugged, knocking her off balance and forcing her down onto her butt. She spun around and screamed, seeing the decaying flesh clinging to the jaw of the dead man clawing at her. The dirt scraped against her back as she threw herself down onto the ground, avoiding the grazing teeth of the walker. Panic caused adrenaline to rush through her system and she wedged her feet between her and the walker, pushing him up as she reached down into her boot. Her hand met the grip of her knife and she pulled it up, thrusting it into the eye of the undead. A hiss escaped his lips and he feell, dead weight hitting Harley full force, She grunted and pushed with her feet to get the corpse off of her.

As she stood to her feet, she noticed that the commotion had died down. There was no more screaming; only groans of pain and cries of sorrow as some of the camp members mourned their loved ones that had been attacked. Her shaking hand dropped the knife and the sudden thud spooked her, causing her to jump. Carl grabbed the knife off the ground and held it up to Harley. Doing her best to steady her hand, she took her familiar weapon and tucked it back down into her boot. She walked up to Daryl and crossed her arms nervously.

"Well?" she asked, biting her lower lip anxiously.

His head dropped and he stared at the ground.

"Did they... Did they get 'im?"

Daryl shook his head, still staring at the ground. He knew she was counting on him to bring Merle back. For the first time since he had known her, he had let her down.

"He took a handsaw and cut off his hand. Jumped onto another buildin'. I followed him as long I could, but his trail went cold after a while."

For a reason Harley couldn't understand, she began to get angry. Her face began to heat up and her heart raced in her chest.

"That stupid bastard," she mumbled, staring past Daryl at the trees.

Without a word, Harley turned and walked down to Merle's tent. Daryl watched as Harley stood outside the tent, her body rigid and her fists clenched by her sides. Her shoulders slumped and her head dropped. She sat in the dirt and even from the distance he was at, he could tell she was crying.


	4. Chapter 4

_Harle_y _rolled over on the couch and felt gravity take control of her hand, dropping it to the floor. The old blanket she had covered herself with the night before had crumpled itself in a heap on the floor. She groaned and opened her eyes against the glaring sunlight filtering in through the dirty window. Glancing around, she noticed beer bottles and cans strewn across the floor in the doorway to the kitchen. Whoever Merle had brought home with him last night must have been drinking with him in the kitchen while Harley lay sleeping on the couch. She didn't remember the cans and bottles there the night before. Slowly, she pulled herself from the couch and picked the blanket up off the floor, folding it neatly and draping it over the back of the couch. Before she ate breakfast, Harley was determined to have the house looking decent before Merle crawled out of bed._

_One by one, Harley picked up empty bottles and cans, tossing them into a seperate garbage bag to be taken in to exchange for whatever money they were worth. A streak of grey fur brushed past her leg and Harley looked over to see her loyal feline turning to come back to her. _

_"Hey, Spark," she smiled, leaning over to run her hand down his cloud colored fur. He looked up to her with electrifying yellow eyes and mewed, sauntering over to his food dish._

_Harley bit her lip, remembering that she had forgotten to pick up cat food after work yesterday in her rush to get home. Yesterday was Merle's birthday, so Harley was determined to get home in time to make his favorite dessert, devil's food cake. With a sigh, Harley searched through the cupboards to find a can of tuna. She knew they had to have _something_ she could give to Spark. Finally, she found a can of the disgusting, preserved fish and crinkled her nose when she opened the can. The stench of the tuna permiated the kitchen and Harley quickly dumped it into Spark's food dish, who happily rubbed against harley's leg and went to scarf down the treat._

_"Best not let Merle see you feedin' that cat our food," a voice said from the kitchen door. Harley turned around and bit her lip as Daryl glanced between her and Spark. _

_"I forgot to get cat food yesterday, cuz I was comin' home to make Merle's cake," she said._

_"I ain't mad about it," he shrugged. "Just don't let Merle see."_

_Daryl walked past her towards the fridge and opened the door, staring in for a few moments before closing it and tossing his head back as he went to the pantry._

_"Dammit, Merle..." he mumbled._

_Harley leaned against the fridge. "I was gonna go to the grocery story later on today. Anythin' specific you want?"_

_"No, cuz you ain't goin'," he said quickly. Impatiently, he searched through the pantry for something to eat for breakfast._

_"Well then, come on. We're gonna go to Sandy's for breakfast, since there clearly ain't anythin' to eat here," she smiled. "And I'm definitely goin' to the store later. This house is so empty, a mouse couldn't survive. No wonder the 'coons stay the hell away from here." With a laugh, Harley grabbed Daryl's keys off the counter and tossed them at him. He caught them and thought for a moment. Daryl wasn't entirely sure if he had the money to be going out to breakfast right now. _

_Harley saw the hesitation on his face and sighed. "Nevermind, hun, I'm sure we can find somethin' around here. Just go shower or somethin', I'll get breakfast goin'." She smiled, hiding the sad feeling in her heart that Merle was always spending their money on drugs and alcohol, which meant Daryl could never really enjoy himself._

_"Alright. Thanks, darlin'," he said with a tired smile before retreating into the bathroom. _

_After double checking to make sure she heard the water running and that Daryl was actually in the shower, Harley snatched the keys to his truck up off the counter, grabbed her bag, and ran out to his truck. She jumped up in the cab and started it up, backing out of the driveway and speeding down to the local quick mart. Inside, Harley waved at Gus, the owner, and got eggs, milk, and bread, checking out as quickly as she could. She knew she had to get back before Daryl got out of the shower. _

_When she got home and went inside, Daryl was no longer in the shower, but his bedroom door was shut so she knew she was safe. Quickly, she pulled out a pan and ignited the stove, mixing eggs and milk in a bowl and putting a bit of cinnamon into the mixture, dunking in some of the bread and laying it on the pan, happy with the sizzle that sounded. _

_"Go wake up Merle. I know he ain't gonna wanna get outta bed, but just tell 'im breakfast's cookin'," she said over her shoulder with a smile._

_"Harley? What are you talkin' about? Merle ain't here... Remember? He's somewhere in Atlanta," Daryl said behind her. _

_Confused, Harley turned around and saw Daryl, no longer the young, sixteen year old boy that she had seen just minutes ago. He was older now, and dirty, his crossbow hanging lazily from his arm. He stared at her, concern causing his eyes to narrow. She closed her eyes and rubbed them, trying to bring herself back to her senses. _

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on her back and staring up at Daryl, the sun glaring through the trees and the birds chirping tirelessly around her.

"Daryl? But Merle... he came home last night with that girl from the bar... They made a... a mess in the kitchen, I was gonna clean it up after breakfast," she mumbled. She sat up and looked around her, taking in the familiar sight of the camp ground; the fire up the hill, the tent directly behind her and Daryl's to her right. A lump formed in her throat and her eyes began to sting as reality settled back in.

"We ain't back home... are we?" she asked quietly.

"Nah, darlin', we ain't. We're in the forest, on the run from dead people. Merle's gone. It's just you and me, and the rest of the group."

Harley swallowed the lump in her throat and fought back the tears welling up in her eyes. With a deep breath, she looked behind her at the empty tent with the blankets spilling out of it, the same way it had been left the day Merle had gone to Atlanta. She looked up to Daryl who was staring awkwardly at the dirt.

"You tried, though. Ain't nothin' that can be done about it now," Harley said, hiding her sadness with a smile and looking at her longtime friend. Despite her efforts a tear trickled down her cheek and landed in the dirt by her hand. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes.

"So, where are we headed? Fort Benning or the CDC?" she asked, trying to cheer herself up.

Daryl rolled his head from side to side, closing his eyes with the satisfying pops. "CDC, after we get this place cleared out. They wanna bury all our people and burn all the others."

Harley nodded. It made sense to treat our people with more respect than the foul creatures that had killed them.

"So, uh... What were you dreamin' about? You were still pretty out of it, even when I woke you up," Daryl asked, shooting Harley a curious glance.

A smile small tugged at Harley's lips as she remembered her dream. It had seemed so real, it made the whole, scary world they lived in now seem like it never happened.

"You remember Merle's birthday when we were sixteen?" she asked. Daryl nodded. "Well, it was just the next mornin'. When I made the french toast and I made you go wake 'im up and he started throwin' beer bottles at you. But I woke up just before you went to go get 'im."

One of Daryl's rare smiles flashed briefly as he remembered dodging the beer bottles that Merle had accurately been chucking at his head. He missed the days when they were all together. Usually, all hell would break loose once or twice a day, but they were still some pretty good times. He remembered Harley being what made those times so good. Without her, Merle and Daryl probably would've talked to each other about as often as a deer came up to someone and asked them to shoot it.

"I should probably go help get rid of those damn bodies 'fore the sun gets too hot," Daryl groaned, picking himself up off the ground and grabbing a pickaxe resting lazily against a tree next to him. Harley nodded and told him she'd be over shortly, she just wanted to change.

"If you're gonna be changin' you need to use my tent. We both know Merle's is a mess and I don't need nobody starin' at you like some pervert," Daryl instructed as he walked away.

Harley smirked and rolled her eyes at the protective nature of her childhood friend. With that, she grabbed her backpack and pulled out a clean, grey wife beater, climbed into Daryl's tent, and changed her shirt, relishing the faint smell of fabric softener that had clung to the fabric. Harley had packed several packages of wife beaters, each came in a four pack, for back up clothing and she could fit five packages along with three pairs of jeans in her backpack. She had also managed to fit several bottles of water, a couple MRE's, some matches, several packs of cigarettes, and soap in the large, military style backpack her mother had given her as a birthday gift. Soap was something Harley clung to. Her Bath & Body Works collection was the only expensive thing she had ever asked her mother for. Country Apple was her favorite collection in the entire store. It was simple, but it made Harley calm. Harley hated eating apples as a kid, but as she got older, she grew to love them. Especially Fuji apples. Those were a treat to Harley, though, because they were some of the more expensive apples.

After she had changed, Harley headed up to the camp and her eyes took in the shambles of the group. Several people were lost in the attack and it was hard for their loved ones to cope. Little Sofia had seen her dad beaten to a bloody pulp and then eaten alive all in one day. Harley's heart went out to the poor girl. It was not easy to lose your dad, Harley knew that. Harley also knew how bad it was to watch him die.

Harley noticed Daryl going from walker to walker, slamming the pickaxe into each of their heads and doing the same with each of the group members who had fallen. Andrea sat motionless by Amy's body. Harley learned that she hadn't moved all night. As much as she wanted to go and comfort her, Harley had no idea what to say to the poor woman. She could try to relate, seeing as she just lost Merle, but it was different; Harley hadn't watched him die in her arms. However, Harley did have to live with the fact that she never even got to say goodbye. She never got the closure Andrea was getting.

Shaking her head, Harley decided to leave it alone. She followed behind Daryl and grabbed the foot of his victims and dragged them into their designated piles. Those that were never affiliated with the group were dragged off to be burned while those that were from the group were to be buried.

Daryl had grabbed a deceased member of the group and began to drag him to the burn pile when Glenn began to shout.

"What are you doing?!"

Daryl stopped and looked up at the young asian boy.

What's it look like I'm doin'? I'm gettin' rid of these damn bodies."

"No, our people go over there to be buried," Glenn said sternly, pointing at the pile to his right. Harley ignored the situation and just continued to drag her body to the burn pile.

"The hell's the difference? They're all dead anyways!" Daryl argued.

Harley stopped and dropped the foot of the corpse, walking over to Daryl.

"Look, he's bein' real touchy right now about all this stuff. Just... Go with it and patronize him, please? Avoid a buncha uneccessary drama," she pleaded in a hushed tone.

Daryl rolled his eyes and shook his head before proceeding to drag the body to the bury pile. With a silent thanks, Harley went back to dragging her body to the burn pile.

The hot Georgian sun beat down on the group mercilessly. Harley wiped her hand against her brow and stopped dragging another body to pull her glossy black hair up into a high ponytail and she grabbed her shirt, lifting it up and tying it in the back so it cut off just below her chest. She continued to drag the body to the burn pile and halfway there, she began to lose her steam. Her breath became labored and she could hardly drag the body three feet before she needed to stop.

A pair of strong arms grabbed the foot of the body and started to drag it away.

"Daryl, I've got this!" Harley protested, following after him.

"No you don't, I see you. Can't hardly drag the thing a yard before you gotta stop. Go get some water, you've been workin' all day," he instructed. Harley huffed and glared at him.

"You know, I can take care of myself sometimes," she pouted.

Daryl scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it."

Harley's mouth fell open for a moment and she stalked up to him, pushing his arm so he would move out of her way. With another shake of his head, he moved so she could drag the corpse the rest of the ten feet.

"Bet you can't make it there without stoppin'," he challenged.

"Oh, you're so on," she grumbled, gathering all the strength she had left and dragging the body all the way to the burn pile without stopping.

"See? I can take care of myself!" she said triumphantly, looking around and not seeing Daryl anywhere.

Suddenly, a decaying hand landed on Harley's shoulder and a growl came from behind her. She screamed and shoved her hands to the chest of the body behind her, pushing with all her might before running away from it.

A loud 'oof' came from whatever was behind her, followed by deep, hysterical laughter. Harley put her hand to chest to calm her fleeting heart as she watched Daryl climb to his feet, holding the arm of a walker.

"You shoulda seen your face! Damn, you're so easy to scare! Ain't nothin's changed about you!" he laughed, dropping the arm in the burn pile.

"That wasn't funny, Daryl! Dammit, those things are scary!" Harley cried, cautiously stepping back over to the pile. Daryl's laughter died down and now he saw that he had really given the girl a scare.

"Come on, Harley, you know that was funny!"

"No, Daryl, it wasn't... These things... They can kill us faster than we think. I don't wanna die. Not like that," she said quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Normally, when Daryl scared someone, he didn't care if they got upset, but he had spent so many years protecting Harley from the things that scared her. Now he felt bad for scaring her so badly.

With a roll of his eyes, Daryl walked up to Harley and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, ok? Just tryin'a make you laugh." He pulled away from her and walked off to grab another body. Harley sighed deeply and followed him.

"Oh no, you go get some damn water, girl. Don't need you passin' out on me," he demanded, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Daryl, I'm fine," Harley argued, placing her hands on her hips.

Daryl's eyes went to her hands, then to her hips. He was beginning to get concerned as she was getting so thin. His eyes still couldn't help but notice that even with the weight loss, she still had all the right curves in all the right places. Tearing his eyes away from her body, he looked to the ground and pointed off towards the water again.

"Go."

Harley rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, finally obeying Daryl and going to get some water. Not until she reached the jug of water did she realize how badly she really did need it. By now, the sun had risen high into the sky and had even peaked and began to decend now. Harley hadn't had a thing to drink all day. With the cool water hitting the back of her throat, Harley felt like she had just had a drink of heaven. She closed her eyes and sighed, wiping her brow with the back of her hand.

"Jim's been bit!"

The three simple words shot through Harley like a bullet. Suddenly, the whole camp was gathered around Jim who spun in circles, trying to assure everyone he was alright.

"I'm fine," he mumbled. "I'm fine, guys... I'm fine..."

Daryl stalked up to Jim and grabbed his shirt, lifting it up to reveal the deep bite wound that invaded his ribcage. Harley gasped, along with others from the group, in fear and astonishment. Jim was now a walking threat to the entire group.

"I say we put 'im down! Right here, right now!" Daryl exclaimed.

The group stared at Daryl with wide eyes at his radical solution to the problem.

"Daryl, no! That ain't right!" Harley cried, stepping towards him and pulling the pickaxe towards the ground.

"Well then what the hell are gonna do with 'im? We can't keep 'im around if he's bit!"

Biting her lip in thought, Harley had no words for her friend. She knew he had a point, even if no one wanted to acknowledge it. Faster than Harley could react, Daryl pulled up the pickaxe and charged for Jim. Only when Rick pointed his gun at Daryl's head did he stop.

"We don't kill the living," Rick said coldly.

"That's funny comin' from the man with a gun to my head," Daryl scoffed, lowering his pickaxe. Harley's green eyes moved from Rick, to Daryl, to Jim, and back to Daryl.

"Rick... Please put the gun down," Harley pleaded. Rick glanced at her, seeing the distraught look on her face. He lowered his gun, knowing that if anything happened, she would be one of the first to react.

"What are we gonna do, Rick?" Shane asked quietly to his dear friend. Thoughts flew through Rick's mind as he considered the options of what to do with the bitten man. Daryl rolled his eyes and stalked away angrily. Harley's mind told her to follow him, but her body had a different idea; her body wanted to stay and find out what was to be done with Jim.

"We'll take him to the CDC... That's our only hope," Rick finally announced, looking to everyone in the group for approval.

"What about Fort Benning?" Shane asked, being the only one to go against Rick's decision.

Harley shook her head. "Fort Bennin' ain't gonna be any good."

Shane shot her a death glare before standing tall and asking her, "And you know this how?"

"My ma lived there and I called her on my way out of Atlanta. All I heard was 'hello' and then a buncha screams and gunshots. That can't mean there's anythin' good up there."

The group was eerily silent as they all looked to each other for some kind of idea.

"Alright," Rick said quietly. "Everyone, start packin' up your stuff. We leave at dawn."

Everyone nodded and the group began to disperse. Harley stayed behind to help with the disposal of the bodies as they were loaded into the bed of a truck, one by one. Daryl had returned and was tossing bodies into the truck like they were ragdolls. With all her effort, Harley hooked her arm under the armpits of Ed, who's face had been severely mauled by Carol with the pickaxe, and lifted his dead weight up off the ground about two feet. She dug her feet into the ground and pulled, dropping the body as she heard a sickening pop and felt his shoulders move from the sockets.

"Oh my god!" she cried. Daryl jumped quickly and ran over to her.

"What?" he asked, examining the body to make sure it was in fact dead and that it hadn't latched onto Harley.

Holding a hand to her mouth and turning from the corpse, she swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat.

"The... The arms. They came out of the sockets," she said, clearly disgusted by the sound and feeling it caused.

Shaking his head, Daryl grabbed the corpse and threw it in the bed of the truck with a bit of struggle. Ed was a big man, and his dead weight made him even heavier. He looked over at Harley who was leaned against a tree, holding her hand over mouth.

"You gonna be alright, there?" he asked, walking up to her and placing a hand on her back. Slowly, she nodded and pointed down to their tents.

"I'm gonna go pack up all Merle's stuff. You want me to get yours while I'm down there?" she asked, looking for anything to get her away from the bodies.

"If you wanna, I don't care," Daryl shrugged. Harley nodded and walked away down the hill.

The first thing she did was grab the blankets that had been spilling from Merle's tent for the past couple days. One by one, she folded the blankets and set them all in a neat pile in the grass where they wouldn't get as dirty. With a slight hesitation, she opened the flap to Merle's old tent and stepped inside. Surprisingly, it wasn't near as bad as Harley was expecting. Merle had some dirty clothes lying around, but that was about it. Then it dawned on Harley that he didn't have beer available whenever and he didn't have a shop to run which meant no rags and automobile parts to leave everywhere. Harley gathered up the dirty clothes strewn about and tossed them in a seperate pile outside the tent. Finally empty, Harley collapsed the tent and began to fold it up to be placed back into it's carrier and hauled off to one of the trucks. After making quick work of Merle's tent, Harley moved over to Daryl's, knowing right away that it would be easier to clean up.

Stepping inside, she noticed the blankets that made his bed all neatly laid out like the first night she had arrived at camp. Any dirty clothing Daryl had was all tossed into the corner where it sat in a neat little pile. His crossbow and all his extra bolts were placed carefully on the pile of blankets. Harley picked up the crossbow tennatively and leaned it up against a tree outside, going back in to fold up all the blankets.

"You sure work quick."

Harley jumped and dropped the blanket she had picked up.

"Daryl, you have got to stop scaring me!" she cried, poutting and leaning over to pick up the blanket. A smirk played across his face as he ducked into the tent, picking up his pile of dirty laundry.

"Well if you weren't so jumpy, that wouldn't be a problem, now would it?" he teased. She rolled her eyes and folded the blanket quickly.

With a sigh, Harley sat down on the floor of the tent and leaned back until she was laying flat on her back. Daryl watched her curiously before sitting down next to her. She closed her tired eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply. When she opened her eyes, she looked over to Daryl.

"You mad at me?" she asked, breaking the comfortable silence that sat in the air between the two.

Daryl's face scrunched up and he stared at her.

"The hell you talkin' about? I ain't mad at you," he answered.

Harley smiled slightly and closed her eyes again.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

Opening one eye, Harley looked back at her favorite crossbow-weilder and sighed.

"Well, when I left for Fort Bennin' with my ma... You looked real mad when I had ma and Brent stop by so I could say goodbye. And whenever I tried callin' you, you never called back. I figured you were mad and didn't want anythin' to do with me anymore, so I stopped tryin' to get ahold of you until I was gettin' ready to come back. I left you a message, but you still didn't call back," Harley explained, propping herself up on her elbows.

Confusion filled Daryl's eyes as Harley looked into them for any kind of an answer.

"You called? When did you call?"

"All the time," Harley started, now becoming just as confused. "I would wait until about five or six in the evenin' and try callin' you once a week. I did that for two whole months."

The two stared at each other, confusion sprawled across their faces. Neither one of them could understand how she could call and he never knew.

"Well... I never got the calls. And I wasn't mad when you came to say goodbye. I..." He struggled to find his words. "I was just upset you were leavin' is all."

Harley sighed and after a few more moments of silence, she got up and walked out of the tent, stopping in the doorway.

"Hold on," she said, holding up a finger.

Daryl sat patiently in the tent until Harley returned with a small Altoids tin in her hands. His eyes widened at the tiny object she held.

"You still have that?" he asked, astonished.

"Hell yeah, I do!" she smiled, opening the tin. Her fingers delicately picked up an old, worn photograph.

She smiled down at the image of Daryl with his strong arms wrapped around Harley's waist as she held her hands over his, smiles on both their faces as they sat on the front steps of the Dixon house. Merle had taken the picture for them when they were sixteen years old, just a few months before Harley found out she was moving to Fort Benning.

Daryl reached over and grabbed another old picture out of the tin, tossing his head back and laughing at the old prom photo that stared back at him.

"We danced once that night, do you remember that?" Harley laughed, pointing at the small picture.

"Yeah, that was the biggest waste of time!" he exclaimed, still laughing at the sight of him in a suit. He wasn't laughing at Harley, though. She had worn a floor length silk gown that was the same color as his old pickup back home; baby blue. Her hair was elegantly curled and piled neatly on the top of her head, some of it falling down and framing her beautiful face. Daryl had never seen her wear much makeup, and even at their prom she hadn't worn that much, but he remembered how he was speechless when he had gone to pick her up.

"I don't think so," Harley smiled, sitting back. "I had fun. And when you punched Wayne in the face for tryin' to cut into our dance! Oh my lord, made the whole night that much better!"

"We got kicked out for that!" Daryl laughed.

"So? I had more fun goin' muddin' than I did standin' around havin' everyone judge me!"

The two laughed at the memories they had together and Harley looked back down at the small tin on the ground. She bit her lip as she pulled a small chain out with a silver heart locket attached to the end. The smile on her lips grew wider as she opened the locket and revealed yet another picture of the two together. This time, their faces were scrunched up and their tongues stuck out at the photographer.

Several other photos were tucked inside the tin, being from the Fourth of July parties they had attended over the years and times they had been messing around in Merle's shop. One photo showed the couple sitting on Merle's old motorcycle, Harley with her leg kicked high in the air as she and Daryl flipped off the camera.

"You really never got any of my calls?" Harley asked, unclasping the locket and handing it to Daryl to put around her neck.

He shook his head as he took the locket and waited for her to turn around. "Trust me, darlin', if I woulda got your calls I woulda called you back right away."

She smiled at the familiar sound of the name 'darlin' rolling off his tongue. Holding her hair to the side, Harley sat still as he clasped the two ends of the chain together. Once she felt his hands slide onto her shoulders, she turned to look at him.

With a sigh, she looked to the ground where all the memories were scattered.

"I wish I had never gone. I really hated it there. I didn't know a damn soul and the whole time, I just kept wishin' I could go home. I kept tellin' Ma that, but she kept sayin' that I was home."

"Well..." Daryl started. "Maybe we'll find a home at the CDC. Who knows?"

Harley smiled, but it was a forced smile. Something in her told her that the CDC would be a bust. Forcing that though to the back of her head, Harley tried to assure herself that eventually, they would find a place of permanent residence.

"You ask me, home is wherever my Dixon boys are at," she smiled up at him. "We'll get 'im back eventually, hun."

Daryl looked down at her, studying the determination in her eyes. He knew she would do whatever it took to get her best friend back. Harley looked down at Daryl's chest to avoid his crystal eyes. They always had the ability to make her get lost, ever since they were little. She looked back up at him with the influence of his hand under her chin and closed her eyes as he pressed his lips against hers.

The whole, horrifying world outside the tent disappeared in the moments that their lips were together. When they broke apart, Daryl leaned his forhead against Harley's.

"I missed you, woman," he whispered, dropping his hand to hers and tangling their fingers together.

Harley smiled and squeezed his hand lightly. "Missed you, too, hun."

Lifting his head so their eyes met, he brought his free hand up and cupped it on the side of her face.

"This time, I ain't lettin' you go. You ain't goin' anywhere without me," he declared. Harley could see the committment in his eyes and smiled again.

Quickly, she jumped up and ran out of the tent, turning on her heel and running behind it. She ducked behind the tent and suppressed a giggle as she heard Daryl climb out of the tent and walk towards the trees to look for her. When she thought his back was turned, she darted from behind the tent and took off for the trees. She had jumped out just as Daryl had turned, though, and he quickly lunged after her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back, lifting her off her feet and carrying her back up to the camp.

Giggling and pleading for Daryl to put her down, Harley allowed herself to be carried to wherever it was he was taking her.

"What did I just tell you?" he asked, laughing as he set her down by the fire up at camp.

"I didn't think you were gonna catch me!" she laughed breathlessly.

"Well you sure don't think much, do you?" He sat down next to her and looked over at Carl who had watched as Daryl had been friendlier to Harley than he had been to the whole group combined.

Carl smiled and adjusted his dad's sherriff's hat so it wasn't over his eyes. Harley waved over to the young boy who returned the wave and walked off to find his mother.

The sun was beginning to set and everyone was making their way to the fire where Harley and Daryl had been sitting for a while now, talking about the times they remembered from their childhoods and teenage years together.

"Hey, Rick, you wanna see somethin' funny?" Harley asked.

Daryl shot her a questioning glance as Rick looked over at her.

"Sure. I could use it," Rick nodded, smiling at Harley.

Before Daryl could stop her, she had pulled the prom photo out of her pocket and handed it off to Rick.

"The only photograph ever of Daryl Dixon wearing a suit!" she laughed, watching as Daryl jumped up to retrieve the picture.

"Look at that!" Lori exclaimed, looking over her husband's shoulder. "Harley, you look wonderful! And Daryl, not half bad yourself. You clean up well."

Much to Daryl's dismay, the picture made it's way around the fire to anyone and everyone who wanted to see it. Everyone was stunned at the young couple that had cleaned up so well.

"Harley, you really look amazing, sweetie," Jacqui smiled, handing back the picture that Harley carefully slid into her pocket.

"Thank you," she said, smiling with a light blush from all the compliments. "I saved up tips for a month to have enough to get my hair done and I had been saving since Christmas to get that dress."

"Well you looked wonderful, dear," Dale complimented, a large smile on his face.

Harley sat down and looked at Daryl who sat next to her.

"Daryl looked great, too. He was so against going to prom, but I begged 'im for a good three months 'fore he finally said yes," she admitted.

"How long did you two date?" Dale asked, looking at Harley curiously.

"Four years. Then my ma said I had to go with her to Fort Benning and we lost contact," Harley answered, sighing heavily.

Daryl was staring intently into the fire, trying to avoid everyone's curious eyes. He wasn't even sure himself why he was being so emberassed by talking about their relationship. Maybe it was because before, they had never really talked about it to anyone. It was just something that was known in town. These people weren't from their hometown, though, so they didn't know.

Lori looked over at Daryl and asked him, "So, Daryl, what happens now?"

Everyone fell silent and looked to him for an answer. He chewed on the side of his thumb for a moment before hooking his arm around Harley and looking directly at Lori.

"I told her she ain't gettin' away from me again. So that means she's mine."

Harley smiled brightly and leaned her head on his shoulder as she stared into the fire and glanced at the smiles on everyone's faces. They were glad to see that even in this hellish world, there was still some happiness to be found.

After a couple more stories of the teenage years Harley and Daryl had shared, and a few warnings from Harley to Carl on what not to do, the group had all decided they had better get to bed, seeing as they had a long journey ahead for tomorrow. With a quick hug, Harley said goodnight to Carl and Sofia and sent them off with their mothers. She helped Dale smother most of the fire, leaving only burning embers in the pit, and load up anything that was left from the night into the Winnebago so it was ready for departure in the morning.

She headed down to the two tents at the bottom of the hill and grabbed a blanket off the stack she had made outside the tent. Opening Merle's old tent, she climbed in and laid down on the ground, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

Daryl sat in his tent and waited for Harley to come in. When he had sat for quite some time and she never showed, he pulled on his boots and walked out, noticing that her boots were sitting outside Merle's old tent. He shook his head and opened the tent, looking inside.

"The hell you doin' in here?" he asked.

Harley lifted her head up and looked at him.

"Tryin' to sleep?" she asked in response.

"You ain't gonna come stay with me?"

Sitting up completely, Harley looked up to him, his silhouette just barely noticable in the darkness.

"Why? Merle's tent is clean now," she mumbled, feeling the tiredness take over her body.

"Well, I just thought maybe you'd wanna come stay with me now. I mean, it ain't any different than when we lived back home. You quit sleepin' on that couch two weeks after we got together," he pointed out.

Harley sat still for a while, her tired mind debating whether or not she actually wanted to get up.

"But I don't wanna stand up and walk," she groaned.

Daryl sighed softly, chuckling to himself as he stepped into the tent and put his arms under her legs and around her back, lifting her up and carrying her out of the tent.

Her head fell tiredly against his shoulder as he carried her all six feet to his tent and laid her down inside. Pulling off his boots, Daryl was careful not to step on her as she quickly began to drift off into sleep. He pulled the blanket up over them and pulled her close, letting her situate herself against his chest as he heard her breathing slow. The soft, steady beat of her heart against his chest comforted him and he quickly felt sleep take over his entire being.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


End file.
